U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson re-elected to second term in Congress

WASHINGTON — Northwest Louisiana voters sent U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson back to Congress for a second term Tuesday, complete, but unofficial election returns show.

Johnson, a Republican from Bossier Parish, defeated a pair of challengers to hold onto his seat in the Shreveport-area 4th Congressional District. The incumbent avoided a runoff in besting Democrat Ryan Trundle of Shreveport and the unaffiliated Mark David Halverson of Bossier City.

Johnson, 57, was twice elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives before winning the congressional seat in 2016. Former U.S. Rep. John Fleming, a Minden Republican who now serves as a deputy secretary in the Trump administration, gave up the seat in an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate.

Johnson, a lawyer who worked for the activist Alliance Defending Freedom before becoming a congressman, has focused on conservative social and religious issues on Capitol Hill.

He’s currently a contender to take over the chairmanship of the House Republican Study Committee, a major caucus of conservative Republicans once headed by fellow Louisiana U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson.